MATCH #3
Milwaukee | Monday, February 1 | Woodling Gymnasium | 6:00 p.m.
Live Stats | Video
MATCH #4
Milwaukee | Tuesday, February 2 | Woodling Gymnasium | 5:00 p.m.
Live Stats | Video
QUICK SETS
The Cleveland State volleyball team will play at home for the first time during the 2021 spring campaign this week, hosting Milwaukee in a two-match series on Monday, February 1 and Tuesday, February 2. The Vikings enter the week with a 2-0 mark on the young season, while the Panthers are looking for their first win with an 0-2 record on the year.
ENTERING THE WEEK…
The Vikings will be looking to stay unbeaten on the year…Cleveland State will try to open #HLVB with a perfect 4-0 record for just the third time under head coach Chuck Voss…The Vikings will be attempting to pick up their second #HLVB series sweep of the 2021 campaign.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Milwaukee enters the week with an 0-2 record on the season after dropping a pair of matches against Wright State to begin the year…Earlier this year, the Panthers were selected to finish third in the #HLVB Preseason Poll after finishing the 2019 campaign with a 26-6 record…Milwaukee returns 10 players from the 2019 team, including All-League honorees Ari Miller, Carmen Heilemann and Jess Grabowski.
LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State picked up a pair of wins at Green Bay to begin the 2021 season, earning a 3-0 sweep in the season opener and picking up a 3-1 win in the second game against the Phoenix. This marked the fifth time that the Vikings opened #HLVB play with back-to-back wins, including the second time over the last three years.
2021 #HLVB PLAY
This year's Horizon League schedule will have a different look to it, as the Vikings will face the same opponent in back-to-back matches each week. Cleveland State is scheduled to host four #HLVB series against Milwaukee, Oakland, Robert Morris, and Youngstown State, while the Vikings will still travel to Northern Kentucky, Purdue Fort Wayne and Wright State throughout the rest of the season.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Monday's match against the Panthers will mark the first of what is scheduled to be an eight-match home slate for the Vikings in Woodling Gymnasium this season. Over the last five years Cleveland State has combined for a 46-14 record when playing at home, including a trio of 11-win seasons during the 2018, 2016 and 2015 campaigns. The Vikings have also captured four of their five #HLVB Tournament Titles on their home court, with the last coming during 2017.
MILLER LEADING THE VIKING OFFENSE
Abby Miller made her collegiate debut for the Vikings last week, serving as Cleveland State's primary setter in the first #HLVB series of the season. Miller combined for 54 assists against the Phoenix, including 36 in match two of the series. Miller, who is just the third freshman to lead the Viking offense as the primary setter over the last 13 seasons, currently ranks fifth among Horizon League players averaging 7.71 assists per set.
TOUT RETURNS AS CLEVELAND STATE LIBERO
Junior Lindsey Tout returned as Cleveland State's libero for the second straight season, combining for a team-high 26 digs at Green Bay. Last week Tout led a Viking defense that held the Phoenix to a .092 hitting percentage - the second lowest mark among #HLVB teams during week one. After two matches this season, Tout ranks 10th among league players averaging 3.71 digs per set.
…KUCIA JOINS VIKING DEFENSE
Joining Lindsey Tout in the Cleveland State back row is freshman Caroline Kucia who made her collegiate debut against the Phoenix last week. Kucia, who started both matches for the Vikings, combined for 17 digs through the first two matches of her collegiate career.
PORTIS LEADING THE LEAGUE IN HITTING PERCENTAGE
Entering the second week of the #HLVB slate, junior London Portis leads the league with a .533 hitting percentage (18-2-30) on the young season. Portis combined for 18 total kills last week, including a career-high 13 in the second match of the series. Portis' career-high 13 kills came on a .600 clip (13-1-20), which tied her career-best.
GREENE ON CAREER BLOCK ASSISTS LIST
Senior Hannah Greene picked up right where she left off in last week's season opener at Green Bay, finishing the two-game series with 11 total blocks. After the first week of #HLVB play, Greene ranks second among league players averaging 1.57 blocks per set, while she has helped the Vikings to a matching second place standing averaging 3.07 blocks per set as a team. Of her 11 total blocks, nine were block assists, as she is now in sole possession of 10th place on the CSU Career Block Assists list with 284.
…DeGEORGE ON CAREER DIGS LIST
Senior Emily DeGeorge added to her career digs total last time out, as she enters the week with 1,137 career digs after finishing the Green Bay series with 16. DeGeorge finished with 11 digs in the second match against the Phoenix, marking the 62nd double-digit dig match of her career. DeGeorge currently ranks 10th on the CSU Career Digs list and is just one dig shy of moving into a tie for eighth place.
SCHOEN NAMED CLEVELAND STATE SAAC PRESIDENT
Prior to the 2020-21 academic school year, Cleveland State senior Halle Schoen was named the Cleveland State SAAC President, and will serve in the role for the remainder of the year. This will be Schoen's third year as an active member of CSU SAAC, as she was the Community Service Co-Chair as a junior and an active Board Member as a sophomore.
VIKINGS POST STRONG SEMESTER IN THE CLASSROOM
With the 2020 Fall Semester in the books, the Vikings posted one of their best semesters in program history, finishing with a 3.86 Team GPA for the term - the highest GPA among all 18 Cleveland State teams last semester. In addition, six Vikings were named to the Cleveland State President's List3.90+ (Halle Schoen, Audrey McConihe, Lydia Latimer, Keanna Avery, Sarah Green, Abby Miller), while nine Vikings earned a spot on the Cleveland State Dean's List3.25+ (Hannah Greene, Emily DeGeorge, Lindsey Tout, Chelsea Penfield, Peyton Bloomer, Caroline Kucia, Madalynn Butler, Ainslie McLaughlin, Sam Snow).
HEAD COACH CHUCK VOSS
Chuck Voss is in his 21st season at the helm of the Vikings, and owns a 364-234 (.608) overall record at Cleveland State. Under Voss the Vikings have recorded 16 winning seasons, including a streak of 10 straight from 2009 to 2018. Cleveland State has eclipsed the 20-win mark eight times since Voss took over the program, and has captured Horizon League Tournament titles five times (2007, 2012, 2015, 2016 & 2017) under his guidance. During the 2016 season Voss became the all-time winningest coach in program history, and then later became the only active Horizon League coach to reach the 350-win mark at their current school.
UP NEXT
The Vikings will return to the road for a two-match series at Northern Kentucky on Monday, February 8 and Tuesday, February 9.
